DALLAS — This is a brave new world, the Big 12 joining Big Brother in an unprecedented media marriage.

The Longhorn Network was a subject of much fascination Monday at Big 12 media days after a volley of public statements leading up to the network's Aug. 26 launch. Competing schools have expressed concerns that Texas could receive an unfair recruiting edge from its ESPN-backed TV venture, and some of the more controversial elements have been placed under further review by the Big 12 and the NCAA.

Most controversial are the network's intentions to broadcast high school games involving Texas recruits and its attempts to secure a conference game in addition to a Sept. 3 nonconference game between Texas and Rice.

In some ways, though, that only begins to untangle the issues associated with this new media venture.

“You're going to have eyes on you every day across the country,” coach Mack Brown said, “so you better do things right.”

The Longhorn Network will take football voyeurism to new levels, with practices, scrimmages and team meetings all potentially open to inspection. This creates obvious competitive concerns, and Brown said he has spent the last six months dealing with ESPN executives to find the right balance between access and privacy.

That kind of 24-7 access certainly wouldn't fly at Kansas State — or many other schools, for that matter — but Texas has welcomed the spotlight.

If you've got it, might as well flaunt it.

“I think you have to give credit to the regents at Texas and to president Bill Powers for pulling off a partnership with ESPN and college football,” Brown said. “What an unbelievable thing they did ... It was available to everybody, and they pulled it off.”

ESPN has tried to position its $300 million investment for success, installing top executives to run Longhorn Network programming and hiring ESPNU's Lowell Galindo as its primary anchor.

This school-branded network, the first of its kind, has sparked envy and more than a little angst among other conference members. Texas A&M called a regents meeting to discuss the network, and athletic director Bill Byrne articulated those concerns in a written statement last week.

The criticism was muted Monday, with Missouri coach Gary Pinkel offering the strongest words about the possibility of putting Texas recruits on TV.

“It's a lack of common sense there to think that the university network can have high school games on their network,” Pinkel said. “To me, there's no common sense there.”

The sticking point is whether the network is deemed to be a representative of the school's interests, in which case televising high school games would constitute an NCAA recruiting violation.

How powerful is the lure of TV for a high school prospect? Five Big 12 players said they would have been excited by the idea of playing a high school game on TV, though none said it would have been significant enough to influence a college commitment.

“I'm not going to lie: When I was in high school we had some TV games, and I used to rush home after the game, no matter how tired I was, and try to flip through the channels and catch it,” said Texas A&M defensive tackle Tony Jerod-Eddie, who attended Texas powerhouse DeSoto High. “But at the end of the day, you have to go where you feel comfortable going, where you feel like you fit. I know I didn't make any decisions based on if I was going to be on TV or not on TV, on the radio or have interviews.”

The NCAA announced an Aug. 22 summit to address concerns about broadcasting high school events, and the feeling in some Big 12 circles is the high school broadcasts won't stand up to NCAA scrutiny.

In some ways, it could be a moot point. Even if the Longhorn Network can't broadcast high school games, it can broadcast practically everything else, creating an undeniable recruiting pitch for players who care about TV exposure.

“We've tried to sell it to the players that you're going to get more exposure than any other player in the history of college football,” Brown said. “If you ask me what the advantage of the network is, the players will get more exposure than anybody, ever. That's a great thing for them if you're acting right.”

For all the chatter it has created, not everybody is rankled by the Longhorn Network. Some in the Big 12 would prefer to pursue their own slice of the pie in the free market.

“(Texas) can do that,” Baylor coach Art Briles said. “If there's a need for it and people are going to pay for it, more power to them. Let them have it.

“If we have to recruit harder against Texas, we'll do a better job, work harder and see if we can get a little better.”